Materials Scientists Salary: $133,759 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 8,330 materials scientists nationally earn a mean of $133,759. Employment in the series shown fell about 23% from the first to the last year; much hiring sits in professional, scientific, and technical services.
Key Statistics
Materials Scientists: what the data shows
Common questions about materials scientists careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a materials scientists?
Materials Scientists is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 19-2032.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 8,330 workers.
What does a materials scientists do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings, Analyzing Data or Information, Getting Information, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Working with Computers, Thinking Creatively, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a materials scientists make?
BLS national median annual wage: $104,160 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $133,759 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $58,580 |
| 25th percentile | $99,133 |
| Median (50th) | $135,105 |
| 75th percentile | $162,592 |
| 90th percentile | $187,830 |
What education do you need?
For Materials Scientists, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Science, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Active Learning, Speaking, and knowledge areas including Engineering and Technology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is materials scientists in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 0.1% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 0.5%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 1.1%.
Current U.S. headcount: 8,330.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do materials scientistss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 8,330 | 18.2% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 7,790 | 17.1% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 3,590 | 7.9% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 3,590 | 7.9% |
| Manufacturing | 2,960 | 6.5% |
| Scientific Research and Development Services | 2,570 | 5.6% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Materials Scientists in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Materials Scientists workforce.
Employment Over Time
8,330 Workforce in 2023
The Materials Scientists workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Materials Scientists.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$133,759 Average Wage
In 2023, Materials Scientists earned an average of $133,759.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Materials Scientists.
Salary distribution for Materials Scientists.
Employment Growth Projections
0.1% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
2,332 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 0.5%
2,345 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 1.1%
This occupation is projected to grow at 0.1% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Materials Scientists.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Materials Scientists and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Materials Scientists employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Materials Scientists.
Wage Trends by Industry
3.5% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Total, All Industry: -20.1% growth (Current: $168,878)
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Materials Scientists.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Materials Scientists.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- MA: 720 employees, $122,600 avg wage
- OH: 670 employees, $99,230 avg wage
- NY: 630 employees, $133,200 avg wage
- NJ: 630 employees, $96,210 avg wage
- CA: 610 employees, $130,220 avg wage
- IL: 470 employees, $121,090 avg wage
- TN: 430 employees, N/A avg wage
- TX: 380 employees, $92,000 avg wage
- NC: 370 employees, $98,290 avg wage
- MN: 360 employees, $116,010 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Materials Scientists.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 790 employees, $112,100 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 550 employees, $122,480 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 360 employees, $126,390 avg wage
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI: 330 employees, $117,030 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 210 employees, $112,150 avg wage
- Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN: 210 employees, $100,310 avg wage
- Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY: 210 employees, $132,030 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 170 employees, $132,220 avg wage
- Durham-Chapel Hill, NC: 170 employees, $104,450 avg wage
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: 160 employees, $136,170 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Materials Scientists.
Diversity
Demographic information on Materials Scientists in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Materials Scientists in 2023 was 8,330 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Materials Scientists.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Materials Scientists.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Materials Scientists.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Materials Scientists in 2023 were Business Administration, Engineering, Biology.
Common majors for Materials Scientists.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Materials Scientists workers.
Education level distribution for Materials Scientists.
Skills
Materials Scientists need many skills, but most especially Science, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Active Learning.
Required skills for Materials Scientists.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Materials Scientists.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Materials Scientists include Engineering and Technology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Computers and Electronics.
Knowledge areas required for Materials Scientists.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Materials Scientists include Written Comprehension, Written Expression, Inductive Reasoning, Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression.
Required abilities for Materials Scientists.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Materials Scientists.
Daily Activities
Materials Scientists spend their time on activities such as Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings, Analyzing Data or Information, Getting Information, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Working with Computers.
Most important work activities for Materials Scientists.
About
Materials Scientists
The average yearly wage for Materials Scientists was $133,759 in 2023.
SOC Code
19-2032 - Materials Scientists
Insights and Analysis
High earnings profile: Materials Scientists reports an average salary of $133,759, placing it among stronger-paying occupations.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 8,330 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 0.1%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.